1.I know you can buy Card Readers, now do these have a maximum (gb) in memory i.e. I get there and fill it up after 2 days of photos ?

2. Do they need to be plugged into the mains to transfer from the card to the card reader ?

3. Or am I better taking numerous cards, that may never be used again ?

Thanks in anticipation

_________________

Posted: Mon Aug 08, 2011 11:58 am

1ee

Joined: 21 Feb 2010

Posts: 175

From the little bit that I know about card readers with storage facilities, it will almost certainly cost more for you to buy one of these than it will to buy a few SD cards.

1. Yes they will have an maximum memory
2. Possibly
3. I would say yes. Why would the cards never be used again?

Posted: Mon Aug 08, 2011 12:03 pm

Shazo1

Joined: 11 Jun 2009

Posts: 457

Location: Willenhall

1ee wrote:

From the little bit that I know about card readers with storage facilities, it will almost certainly cost more for you to buy one of these than it will to a few SD cards.

1. Yes they will have an maximum memory
2. Possibly
3. I would say yes. Why would the cards never be used again?

Thanks Lee

There will probably never be another holiday where I will want to take so many photo`s as on Safari, we are on a 7 day safari, so was thinking of taking a Card for every day, whereby I did think if the Memory Card Reader held a large amount of memory, then I could just take the 2x 32gb that I have and just transfer to the Card Reader each night.

Obviously if the Card Readers have a Maximum Memory then that is really not pheasible, so I shall get another 4 or 5 Cards but get a lower gb possibly 4gb.

Thanks a bunch.

_________________

Posted: Tue Aug 09, 2011 1:46 pm

Humble Jim

Joined: 03 Jan 2005

Posts: 6190

Location: Leeds, UK

If you plan to take huge numbers of photos remember you can do a daily first 'weeding' pass when you have some quiet time on an evening, say.

There are bound to be obvious rejects when you review them on camera so just blow those out. But anything you think has even a faint chance of looking good on a proper monitor later hang on to.

The weeding thing will give you back lots of space and have a side benefit too; you'll naturally gain an idea of what 'works' when taking shots in the safari environment. Just stowing tons of stuff en masse for when you get home and not making some sort of careful ongoing review of what you're accumulating may cause you to miss a trick or several.

Incidentally, if this hasn't occurred to you already, take at least one spare (and preferably two) camera batteries with you. You do not want to be caught short due to lack of power in the field. For that reason avoid reviewing photos out on safari itself, reviewing photos by itself drains batteries at a certain rate.

Just my $0.02 worth...

Posted: Tue Aug 09, 2011 2:32 pm

Shazo1

Joined: 11 Jun 2009

Posts: 457

Location: Willenhall

Thanks HJ

Yes I do have a couple of spare batteries for that reason, there were pros and cons on both ideas, the card reader that I now have my eye on is a 540gb but wot if I get over there and it breaks down, and I thought by takin about 6 cards 2 of which I already have, then I can mark up the boxes with the dates the photos were taken, then move them into a secure place, I have less chance of losing any of my pics or all shud anything nasty happen, as I am takin my nikon D5000, but I am also taking my Panasonic DMC-TZ8 as a back up, along with my DVD video cam (mainly for balloon flight)

At least when I get back I can keep 2 cards for each camera, then I don't have to keep swapping and changing.
Regards Sharon

_________________

Posted: Tue Aug 09, 2011 6:48 pm

Mark

Joined: 30 Dec 2004

Posts: 1212

Location: Midsomer Norton

I took 2 x 2GB XD cards for my Olmpus Mju and a 2GB and 4GB compact flash for my Canon when I went to Kenya in May.

I brought back a combined total of 1500 photos, which will be whittled down to a sensible number. There was still ample room for more photos as I kept the resolution down to a realistic size.

When I travelled home I kept all the cards in my pocket/wallet as I felt they would be safer there.

Totally agree with HJ on battery comment as one of mine failed after a long hard day just as the hippos were getting out of the water! Luckily the Mju was there to capture the moment.

Posted: Wed Aug 10, 2011 7:47 am

Shazo1

Joined: 11 Jun 2009

Posts: 457

Location: Willenhall

Mark wrote:

I took 2 x 2GB XD cards for my Olmpus Mju and a 2GB and 4GB compact flash for my Canon when I went to Kenya in May.

I brought back a combined total of 1500 photos, which will be whittled down to a sensible number. There was still ample room for more photos as I kept the resolution down to a realistic size.

When I travelled home I kept all the cards in my pocket/wallet as I felt they would be safer there.

Totally agree with HJ on battery comment as one of mine failed after a long hard day just as the hippos were getting out of the water! Luckily the Mju was there to capture the moment.

Thanks Mark,

I am going to get another Battery for my Nikon, I do have 2 already, but a third wont break the bank, or take up to much room in the luggage, and I am also going to get another battery for my Panasonic.

I have decided on extra memory cards rather than a Reader, and I will take 1 card for each day, I have a 8gb and a 16gb, so I can use one for the balloon flight at a higher resolution.

I am now in the middle of having a self crash course in the DVD cam we purchased it when we went to Florida in 2008, and hasnt been used since.

Thanks guys for your input, if you think of anything else any tips would be greatfully received.

_________________

Posted: Wed Aug 10, 2011 8:08 am

1ee

Joined: 21 Feb 2010

Posts: 175

Shazo1 wrote:

Mark wrote:

I took 2 x 2GB XD cards for my Olmpus Mju and a 2GB and 4GB compact flash for my Canon when I went to Kenya in May.

I brought back a combined total of 1500 photos, which will be whittled down to a sensible number. There was still ample room for more photos as I kept the resolution down to a realistic size.

When I travelled home I kept all the cards in my pocket/wallet as I felt they would be safer there.

Totally agree with HJ on battery comment as one of mine failed after a long hard day just as the hippos were getting out of the water! Luckily the Mju was there to capture the moment.

Thanks Mark,

I am going to get another Battery for my Nikon, I do have 2 already, but a third wont break the bank, or take up to much room in the luggage, and I am also going to get another battery for my Panasonic.

I have decided on extra memory cards rather than a Reader, and I will take 1 card for each day, I have a 8gb and a 16gb, so I can use one for the balloon flight at a higher resolution.

I am now in the middle of having a self crash course in the DVD cam we purchased it when we went to Florida in 2008, and hasnt been used since.

Thanks guys for your input, if you think of anything else any tips would be greatfully received.

This is only my opinion but I always shoot at the highest resolution available to me, especially in situations where I don't always have time to frame my subject, as may well be the case for you on safari. It just means you've got more pixels to play with when it comes to cropping and you won't have to worry as much about losing detail. If you've already got an 8GB and 16GB and you plan on buying more, you'd have to be seriously snap happy to fill all that up. Plus, if you take Jim's advice and go through your images at the end of every day and delete the crap, you should easily have enough space.

Posted: Wed Aug 10, 2011 8:41 am

Shazo1

Joined: 11 Jun 2009

Posts: 457

Location: Willenhall

1ee wrote:

Shazo1 wrote:

Mark wrote:

I took 2 x 2GB XD cards for my Olmpus Mju and a 2GB and 4GB compact flash for my Canon when I went to Kenya in May.

I brought back a combined total of 1500 photos, which will be whittled down to a sensible number. There was still ample room for more photos as I kept the resolution down to a realistic size.

When I travelled home I kept all the cards in my pocket/wallet as I felt they would be safer there.

Totally agree with HJ on battery comment as one of mine failed after a long hard day just as the hippos were getting out of the water! Luckily the Mju was there to capture the moment.

Thanks Mark,

I am going to get another Battery for my Nikon, I do have 2 already, but a third wont break the bank, or take up to much room in the luggage, and I am also going to get another battery for my Panasonic.

I have decided on extra memory cards rather than a Reader, and I will take 1 card for each day, I have a 8gb and a 16gb, so I can use one for the balloon flight at a higher resolution.

I am now in the middle of having a self crash course in the DVD cam we purchased it when we went to Florida in 2008, and hasnt been used since.

Thanks guys for your input, if you think of anything else any tips would be greatfully received.

This is only my opinion but I always shoot at the highest resolution available to me, especially in situations where I don't always have time to frame my subject, as may well be the case for you on safari. It just means you've got more pixels to play with when it comes to cropping and you won't have to worry as much about losing detail. If you've already got an 8GB and 16GB and you plan on buying more, you'd have to be seriously snap happy to fill all that up. Plus, if you take Jim's advice and go through your images at the end of every day and delete the crap, you should easily have enough space.

Thanks Lee,

Yes I guess I know where you are coming from, and that would I hope be my intention to use the highest resolution.

Its probably not as easy to delete the crap whilst away, I`m not sure what our time limit will be, as I know that most camps are run from generators, and they will switch off the power at a certain time, perhaps Mark can clarify, therefore I will be working in the dark, and running down the battery, although I could use the odd morning or afternoon, when we are not actually out on a game drive.

I know that 16gb and 8gb will hold massive amounts of snaps, but its like having all your eggs in one basket, what If I used 1 card over maybe 3 days, and it got stolen, or lost, or damaged ? my theory is get some 2gb cards, and use one for each day, and then hide them safe, at least then hopefully I minimise the loss of any, that was why I was originally thinking of purchasing a Card Reader, and just taking my 16gb & 8gb, thinking it doesnt need any power to transfer.

Going back to deleting the crap, my neice tried that when we were in Florida, and unfortunately in the dark (waiting for a parade to start), she pressed delete all by mistake, and lost everything she had taken in the first week - so that sticks in my mind to, I want to eleviate any possibility.

So grateful for your ideas.........keep em coming.

_________________

Posted: Wed Aug 10, 2011 9:12 am

Mark

Joined: 30 Dec 2004

Posts: 1212

Location: Midsomer Norton

The generators in both safari camps we overnighted in were switched off at about 2300hrs. You are then reliant on torches.

I only used the TV on Meeru to vet my photos but didn't bother this time. Using the camera screen doesn't give a really good idea of the photo quality, only its composition IMHO. I decided to edit it in the comfort of home. I 'snapped' everything, and managed to get at least one or two good shots, candid shots etc. Be careful not to look at the whole event through a lens......you will miss so much!

The lowest resolution I went down to was 5mp and this made a vaste difference to the capacity of the cards, and not such a big difference to the photos which, if printed, will only be 5x7 or so.

I thought about buying a storage device for my 5 week trip to the Far East in Nov/Dec, but have decided to stick to multiple mid sized cards instead. It's all down to personal choice.

Posted: Wed Aug 10, 2011 9:21 am

Shazo1

Joined: 11 Jun 2009

Posts: 457

Location: Willenhall

Mark wrote:

The generators in both safari camps we overnighted in were switched off at about 2300hrs. You are then reliant on torches.

I only used the TV on Meeru to vet my photos but didn't bother this time. Using the camera screen doesn't give a really good idea of the photo quality, only its composition IMHO. I decided to edit it in the comfort of home. I 'snapped' everything, and managed to get at least one or two good shots, candid shots etc. Be careful not to look at the whole event through a lens......you will miss so much!

The lowest resolution I went down to was 5mp and this made a vaste difference to the capacity of the cards, and not such a big difference to the photos which, if printed, will only be 5x7 or so.

I thought about buying a storage device for my 5 week trip to the Far East in Nov/Dec, but have decided to stick to multiple mid sized cards instead. It's all down to personal choice.

Thanks Mark,

Yes I thought I had read or been told that they switched off all electric supply at a certain time, so vetting them would be an issue, and as you say, not having a large screen (No Tele`s), would be a little difficult.

I think multiple cards are the way forward, as I dont know enough about the card readers and their reliablity.

Regards
Sharon

_________________

Posted: Wed Aug 10, 2011 9:22 am

1ee

Joined: 21 Feb 2010

Posts: 175

To elimainate losing a days worth of pictures on one particular card, you could swap the cards two or three times a day.

Personally, I take my little laptop on holiday with me and transfer my pics at the end of the day. Can't remember the model off the top of my head but it's something like this.

Posted: Wed Aug 10, 2011 9:23 am

Shazo1

Joined: 11 Jun 2009

Posts: 457

Location: Willenhall

Mark wrote:

Be careful not to look at the whole event through a lens......you will miss so much!

Yes I am quite fearful of this, I can only compare to the recent Take That gig, I spent the whole time behind the camera taking photos for my niece, and really didnt take in the Concert.

_________________

Posted: Wed Aug 10, 2011 9:27 am

1ee

Joined: 21 Feb 2010

Posts: 175

Also, when I'm reviewing on my camera, I zoom right in to check the smallest details, focus, noise, shadows, framing, etc.

Don't know about the D5000 but my camera has a built in function to show you on the screen which auto focus point was used (if using AF) and it also highlights any completely overexposed sections of the image.

Posted: Wed Aug 10, 2011 11:46 am

Shazo1

Joined: 11 Jun 2009

Posts: 457

Location: Willenhall

1ee wrote:

To elimainate losing a days worth of pictures on one particular card, you could swap the cards two or three times a day.

Personally, I take my little laptop on holiday with me and transfer my pics at the end of the day. Can't remember the model off the top of my head but it's something like this.

Thanks Lee

I had originally thought of a small notebook, I`m sure there are some cheaper ones around, as nice as it may be, and is probably all singing dancing, the price would push the holiday then in excess of £9k and i really cannot justify having a notebook to that extent, as I already have a laptop, I could take my laptop, but again it is a luggage issue, we have 23kg each, of which only a 15kg soft bag is advised on Safari, and we are on Safari for a week, included we have 10kgs hand luggage, but with my Camera equipment, and any other adhoc items (change of clothes for when we arrive), I am probably limited with my weight, but on saying that, when I am packed and know what weight availability I have left, my laptop may be a goer.